Ralph's Mine Disaster 1914

Date: 12 Sep 1914 [unknown]
Location: Huntly, Waikato, North Island, New Zealand
Surnames/tags: Mining_Disasters New Zealand Disasters

Disasters | Mining Disasters |New Zealand Mining Disasters | Ralph's Mine Disaster

Contents 1 History and Circumstances 2 Miner Victims 3 Miner Survivors 4 Rescue Efforts 5 Others Involved/Supporters and the Aftermath 6 Sources

History and Circumstances

Huntly's History

Originally a Māori settlement called Rāhui Pōkeka, Huntly became a military outpost during the Waikato Wars and later grew to become a mining settlement.

After the Waikato and Land Wars some of the soldiers were granted land in the area. Most of the grants were 50 acres/20.2 hectares, and were on the east side of the river. This was the beginning of the settlement of Huntly.

The name of Huntly came from the postmaster, James Henry in 1870 when he used the post stamp from his home town of Huntley Lodge, Scotland. Eventually the "lodge" and "e" were dropped from the name.

The Ralph family was also one of our early families, and began working the first mine in the east side of the river. While mining this site, on the hill behind today's brickworks, fire-clay was discovered. A brickworks was then established. This brick went into the building of buildings around Huntly, many of which still stand like the Huntly War Memorial Hall.^[1]

Huntly expanded when commercial coal mining began. In 1874 Captain Anthony Ralph, a former Waikato militiaman who had been granted land nearby, registered the Taupiri Coal Mining Company, and Ralph’s mine opened in 1876. Companies owned by the Ralph family dominated the industry until the 1940s.

Huntly developed as a tight-knit working-class community. Many miners came from the South Island’s West Coast, and the north of England and Scotland. Local Māori also entered the industry in large numbers. Huntly miners stopped work for three months during the 1913 general strike. On 12 September 1914, 43 miners were killed in an explosion in Ralph’s mine.

Brick making began at Huntly in 1884. The dominant firm, the Huntly Brick and Fireclay Company, was established in 1911. After several name changes, it was still operating in the 2010s as Shinagawa Refractories. Many buildings in the town are made of Huntly brick, including the Masonic Lodge, St Paul’s Anglican church, and the former Huntly Hospital, and it is a widely used building material throughout the region..^[2]

Mine History

Mine Disaster Circumstances

Investigation Report

Miner Victims

On the 19 April 2009, a memorial board listing all the victims of the Ralph Mine disaster was unveiled at the Huntly Cemetery.

43 Miners Lost Their Lives

Name	Occupation	Age	Approx DOB	Status	Family Left	Notes/Aka
ALLEN, William	Machine Boy	18	1896	Single
BAKER, Thomas		37	1877
BERRY, Thomas	Winch driver	29	1885	Single		Body recovered in the sump in No 7 Level
BLENKINSOP, William	Shooter	37	1877	Married	Widow & 4 children under 14 years	BLENKINSOPP
BOWLER, John	Trucker	23	1891	Single
BROCKLEBANK, William Snr	Shooter	52	1862	Married	Widow & 1 child under 14	Son survived with some injuries
BURT, Hutchinson	Trucker	19	1895	Single
BURT, William	Shiftman	28	1886	Single
BURTON, William	Trucker	27	1887	Married	Widow & 2 children under 14 years
CASSON, Thomas	Trucker	22	1892	Single
DARBY, James	Deputy	57	1857	Married	Widow & grown up family
DIXON, John				Married	Widow & 2 children under 14 years (In Australia)
GOWANS, William	Under manager	43	1871	Married	Widow & 1 child under 14
GREENER, John	Shiftman	48	1866	Married	Widow & grown up family
Hinchco, William	Shiftman	37	1877	Married	Widow & 2 children
HOLDEN, James	Shiftman	58	1856	Married	Widow & 1 child under 14
HOPPER, Fawcett Seymour	Trucker	31	1883	Married	Widow & 2 children under 14
IZATT, Alexander	Onshovers assistant	17	1897	Single		Died in Hamiton Hospital
JACKSON, Henry	Clipper	24	1890	Single		John's Brother; Samuel's son
JACKSON, John		26	1888			Henry's Brother; Samuel's son
JACKSON, Samuel	Shiftman	54	1860	Married	Widow & 1 child under 14	Severely burned - Died Waikato Hospital; 2 sons also died
JONES, John	Roadman	49	1865	Married	Widow
KELLY, William	Contractor	36	1878	Married	Widow & 1 child under 14
LYONS, Daniel	Shiftman	62	1852	Married	Grown up family
MALONEY, Charles	Trucker	21	1893	Married	Widow
MARTIN, John	Trucker	29	1885	Single
MAYLAND, William Jnr	Clipper	18	1896	Single
Mitchell, W	Trucker			Single
MOLESWORTH, Theophilus	Engine-driver	29	1885	Married	Widow & 1 child under 14
MUNSEY, Robert	Shiftman	63	1851	Married
PATERSON, David	Roadsman	36	1878	Married	Widow & 5 children under 14 years
PATTERSON, William	Contractor	44	1870	Married	Leaves 7 motherless children
PECKHAM, Henry	Senior deputy	45	1869	Married	Widow & 7 children under 14 years
RANSON, Hugh	Road-cleaner	39	1875	Married	Widow & 1 grown up daughter
ROBINSON, John	Trucker	28	1886	Married	Widow & 1 child under 14
ROPER, William		36	1878	Married	Widow & 4 children under 14 years (In England)
RUSTON, Arthur	Roadman	28	1886	Married	Widow & 1 child under 14
SKELLERN, John C.	Deputy	36	1878	Married	Four motherless children
SLAVIN, William	Trucker	18	1896	Single
SMITH, William	Deputy	62	1852	Married	Widow & grown up family
STEELE, John	Roundsman	40	1874	Married	Widow & 5 children under 14 years
TAYLOR, Fred	Winch driver	29	1885	Married	Widow & 1 child under 14
THOMPSON, Jacob	Horse-driver	18	1896	Single
WHORSKEY, John	Deputy	36	1878	Married	Widow & 6 children	WHORSKLY (WHORSKY)

Miner Survivors

Survivors of the Ralph's Mine Explosion

Survivor	Injuries	AKA
Beckham, Alf	Severely burned
Brocklebank, Jr, William	Considerably cut & bruised
Brownlee, Joseph	Escaped without Injury	BROWNLIE
Easby, Thomas	Escaped without Injury	EARBY
Farrar, A	Escaped without Injury
Fletcher, Daniel	Escaped without Injury
Healey, Bernard	Bruised arm
Hughes, Thomas
Mcgill, Patrick	Escaped without Injury
Mcintosh, Alexander	Escaped without Injury
Mitchell, William A	Escaped without Injury
Mottram, Glen	Body bruised and leg injured
O'Brien, Joseph	Burned hands
Peckham, Alfred
Richards, James	Escaped without Injury
Ritchie, Joseph
Stewart, Albert	Escaped without Injury
Tollan, John	Escaped without Injury	TALLON
Wilkie, John	Escaped without Injury
Young, James	Escaped without Injury

Rescue Efforts

Others Involved/Supporters and the Aftermath

Sources

1. ↑ Huntly Info
2. ↑ Nancy Swarbrick, 'Waikato places - Huntly', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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